Encounter
by Antares700
Summary: When Sonic and his friends are forced to land in Babylon Garden after a nearly disasterous mission against Dr Eggman, the find something far worse. Sonic humans fanfic. Constructive citicism welcome. Rated T for violence and language. Final Chapter is up.
1. Chapter 1

The metal corridors glowed red as the proximity alerts of Eggman's base blared into life

The metal corridors glowed red as the proximity alerts of Eggman's base blared into life. Most of the building reflected the light. Only two were exceptions. Two streaks to be exact, one blue and one black. Sonic, fastest thing on earth and Shadow the ultimate life form, were running for the exit as the humanoid forms of Eggman's robots came to life.

"All robots come in! Shadow and Sonic are loose in the base. Kill them and bring me the engine matrix!" came the bellowing, slightly hoarse voice of Eggman. Nearly instantly, the corridor began to fill with gunfire. Both boys began swerving in perfect unison to dodge the fire.

"Did you have to gloat Sonic!" Shadow called.

"Come on Shad!" Sonic called back, the cockiness easily detectable in his voice. The danger of the situation hadn't phased him in the slightly. "What's the point in stealing this thing if we can't have a little fun with old Eggy?" Shots whizzed past his face like stars past a spaceship. "Besides, what would be better than seeing that look on his face as we left?"

A bullet tore through shadow's jacket. He pulled an SMG from his belt and blew the offending robot to oblivion. "Life, perhaps!" Another robot tried to cut him off. Shadow jumped, landing on its chassis. He stared into the robots photoceptors and smiled. Than his air shoes activated, blasting 500 pound per inch pressure of concentrated air straight into the robots body. The effect was the robot flying through it comrades into the far wall.

"Uh, Shadow!" he heard sonic behind him. Shadow turned. Sonic, his blue hair and hoddie drenched with sweat and his automatic pistol in hand, was staring at a sea of metallic bodies at least 15 meters deep. "We may have a problem."

Shadow spoke into the radio on his wrist. "Guys, this would be a perfect time for you to turn up."

"Already on it!" came a voice not only through the comm., but also from behind and around the robot ocean. Shadow turned. So did the robots. Then three things happened at once. 1: The robots on the left were engulfed in a sudden fireball.

2: the robots on the right were cut to shreds by a rain of shrunken.

3: The robots at the back glowed aqua, then spontaneously flew into the walls.

The end result was a symphony of electronic squeals, burning metal, and hydraulics bursting, ending with one major bang! From the smoke walked three figures: a tall, silver haired boy with strange tattoos on his hands, another boy in purple with a yellow streak in his hair and a calm expression, and a girl with a purple robe, white tights and ceremonial gloves. Silver, Espio and Blaze, the second strike team.

"We needed a rescue, not a fireworks display," muttered Shadow.

"What was that?" asked Silver, using his annoying, fake innocent voice. Blaze snorted.

"Thanks," seethed Shadow. His psychokenisis made him a vital part of the team, but Silver's immaturity was obvious. Shadow activated his radio again, switching to team 3. "Tails, Amy, Knuckles, respond. Any trouble at your end?"

In the hanger, the boy 'Knuckles' responded. He was called Knuckles because he preferred to use his fists over his brain. "Nothing we couldn't handle." His dreadlocks shivered as he cleaned the remains of more robots from his shirt. "I thought this was supposed to be a stealth mission?"

"It was," crackled Shadow. "Sonic couldn't resist teasing Eggman before we left." Knuckles nearly roared. It wasn't the first time Sonic's recklessness had caused them trouble.

"When he gets back I am going to throttle him!" he called loudly through the connection.

"Hey, I can hear you!" crackled Sonic's voice, mock hurt in his voice.

"Sonic!!" Knuckles yelled.

"Calm down Knuckles," said a female voice from inside the hanger. Amy Rose came from where two jets stood, one worse for wear. She was thin, perky girl with pink hair and a dress that was obviously fashionable rather than practical. She could have been mistaken for any schoolgirl except for the oversized hammer sitting on her shoulder. Her point in the team wasn't exactly sure; Knuckles suspected it had something to do with her father funding the team. Whatever it was, she could fight that was for sure. She also had a major crush on Sonic.

"It's not Sonic's fault these robots came, they were here long before the alarms sounded. Give him a break."

"It doesn't matter; he still put everyone in danger!"

"I'm sure it wasn't his fault!" There was what sounded like barely withheld laughter from the other end of the commlink. Silver again.

"Can you two shut up," called a voice from the damaged jet. "We have a serious problem!" Both of them came over to the jet. A pair of legs was sticking out from under its left wing.

"Whichever idiot landed the Tornado managed to rupture both fuel tanks and burn out the backup thrusters," the head that was at the other end of the legs was saying. "Without a new carbon burner and some fuel, we're screwed!"

There was a sigh from the radio. "Tails, we don't all have a degree! All I understood in that was 'we're screwed!'" A thin, lanky boy with yellow blonde hair pulled himself out from under the jet. A pair of goggles hung round his neck and there was a belt of tools holding up his jeans. Grease and oil covered his face. The most unusual thing was the pair of bright orange tails poking out from his pants. Tails, the team's engineer. He took the radio from Knuckles.

"Shadow without proper repairs, which I can't do here, the Tornado isn't airworthy," he said.

"Will it fly?" was Shadow's curt reply.

"For 10 minutes, if I use parts from the Whirlwind."

"Then it'll do." With that Shadow cut the connection. Tails sighed; thrust the comm. into Knuckles, muttering something about being overworked by an emo.

"Brilliant, we're stuck in the middle of a hostile base with a faulty way out," Silver said sardonically. "What more can go wrong?" As if some deity had heard him, thick steel barriers sprang down along the corridor, trapping the strike team. Espio came up behind Silver and rapped his knuckles over Silver's skull.

"Don't talk again!" Espio turned to Shadow. "Any ideas?" Shadow smiled, showing the points of his teeth.

"Just one," he redirected the smile to Sonic. In a second Sonic got it. He didn't like it.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" the smile lingered on Shadow's face as he pulled something from inside his shirt. It was an emerald, flat and gleaming. It seemed to radiate an unworldly power. A Chaos Emerald. "Chaos…!"

"This is gonna hurt!" Sonic nearly whimpered.

"Control!"

There was a flash of near blinding light and the corridor was empty.

In the hanger, there was another flash and the strike team appeared. Sonic frantically began checking himself over.

"Am I all here? Is anything missing?" He began counting his fingers.

"Let me check," Knuckles said. He came over and hammered a vicious kick into Sonic's crotch. Sonic let out a slight squeak, than crumpled over. "No, all there. Now never do this again!" Amy, of course came over to help Sonic while Silver crumpled over as well, but he was laughing.

Espio carried Shadow, who was slumped with exhaustion, over to where Tails was welding part of the Tornado's engine into place. "How are we for launch?" Espio asked.

"Give me a sec," Tails replied. There was a bang from the hanger's entrance, quickly followed by another.

"We don't have a sec Tails, will it fly or not?" Shadow muttered. The power needed to transport the entire team had taken it out of him. Tails slammed the engine door closed and started climbing into the Tornado's cockpit.

"Espio, take the Whirlwind," he ordered over his shoulder. "Everybody belt up! We're ready to take off." There was a scurry of movement as everyone ran, or limped in Sonic's case, to their seats. Another bang sounded from the door. The pilots keyed the ignitions and there was the beautiful hum building to a roar that is associated with the starting of a jet's engine. Then the door of the hanger was literally blown open.

A man walked through flanked by two robots. He had a red coat, designer shoes and small, dark glasses that made it look like he had beady eyes. In fairness, he wasn't really that fat now, but his previous figure had merited his codename 'Dr Eggman'. With an IQ of 300, Ivo Robotnic is heralded as one of the smartest men on earth. He's also criminally insane, and at this moment, he is short one very powerful engine unit.

Of course, Sonic couldn't resist one last taunt from his seat in the Whirlwind. "So long Eggman. I'm sure this piece will end up in the good hands." He waved the component and laughed as the jet engine reached its peak. Dr Eggman just smiled and snapped his fingers. The two robots beside him raised their arms, which Sonic now noticed were highly modified, and fired heavy rockets after the fleeing jets as they raced forward at breakneck speeds.

"You never learn, do you?" Knuckles yelled through the comm.

"It's always my fault, isn't it?" Sonic sulked. The rockets began to gain on the Tornado, whose faulty engine was slowing down already.

"Guys," Tails voice came over the intercom. "I can't maneuver right now, so we're sitting ducks. With Shadow out, Espio took over insane planning. He thought for a second, than replied.

"Can Silver take them out from in there?" He looked over to the Tornado's cockpit. Sure enough, an aqua glow radiated from Silver's seat. A similar glow engulfed one of the rockets. Then it turned around and went back into the hanger, where it detonated loudly. There was another glow from Silver's place. Nothing.

"Sorry Espio," Silver's voice said. "I got one of them, but the second's not responding. I think Eggman has it shielded against my power." Espio, still outwardly calm, swore inwardly. A man with an IQ of 300 was getting smarter. Soon he might actually win!

"Hang in there guys, I'm bringing her around." Espio pulled hard on the steering jock to swing the plane back towards Eggman base, and facing the second rocket. Taking aim, he pushed the trigger for the Whirlwind's tracer bullets. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. He sighed. "Amy?" he asked behind him.

"Mmm?" was her reply.

"Did you get new ammunition for the Whirlwind's guns?

"Yeah."

"Did you load them?"

"No." Espio sighed again.

"Why not?"

"Well, I was going to, but then Cleo called, complaining about Julius and I guess I forgot. Why?" There were sighs from just about everyone in earshot. Why does this always happen, was what everyone was thinking.

"OK, new plan, I'm going to try ramming the missile," Espio said.

"What?!" Sonic called to Espio. "You're telling me that we're going to ram a missile?"

"Yes." There was a blessed silence from Sonic.

"Sweet!" he finally called. Shadow groaned.

Extremely carefully, Espio brought the Whirlwind beside the rocket. Then, like some kid poking a dead fish, he tapped the rocket's nose, and then recoiled instantly like it had been stung. Tapping the rocket of course set it off with a terrific explosion. From this explosion the two planes flew away from the base, leaving it in turmoil and wreck.


	2. Chapter 2

SPEED: Speed, Psychic, Espionage, Engineering Division

SPEED: Speed, Psychic, Espionage, Engineering Division. It's a special division of GUN, the global defense agency, a division taken up completely by orphaned teenagers with unusual skills trained to carry out the most dangerous missions there are.

Shadow is a dark, moody boy created completely by science. He is fast, strong, smart and has the ability to control chaos, a current of energy that runs through the entire universe. Given his own way he'd probably do every mission on his own. He is however loyal and protective of his friends.

Sonic is an anomaly of nature. He can run fast enough to break the sound barrier, and does so without thinking. Besides this he's cocky, loud, and pisses off just about anyone he talks to. But, he is kind hearted and has a clear sense of justice.

Knuckles is gullible, not particularly smart, rough, hot tempered, argumentive, excreta. He flawed. But most of these come from him being able to see the good in people, even if it's not there. He's also able to punch through half a meter thick concrete, track with a 96.8 accuracy rate and live off next to nothing.

His younger brother Tails, so named because he has accidentally given himself two tails, is the opposite. He has a degree in engineering, genetics, physics, psychology and chemistry. He's made just about everything that SPEED uses. At 14, he can be quiet and kind, or cynical and sarcastic, basically like a normal teenager. With tails.

Amy Rose is the daughter of Mr. Rose, the man in charge of GUN. She's fashionable, undependable and unfocused. Not exactly the makings of an agent. So it's a good thing she's strong, determined and an expert medic. She also is completely in love with Sonic.

Espio is a master. There's no other way to describe him. He's a master Ninja, a master of Espionage, a master martial artist, a master hacker, a master detective, a master at just about anything he tries. He's always calm and the one people turn to when something goes wrong.

No one really knows anything about Silver or Blaze before they came to SPEED, they were just found somewhere and their powers credited them a place. The only thing anyone does know is the two of them are inseparable. Silver's a psychokinetic, he can control other items with his mind. He can also be the biggest smartass in history. He prefers to work out his own way than to take orders from someone else, even when the commander's probably right. Blaze, on the other hand, is level headed and realistic. She has an air of authority that you can only be born with and dresses like royalty. She's also a pyrokinetic, meaning she can create and control fire. With most people she's cold and withdrawn, but there are a few exceptions.

The most elite of the elite, the best of the best. SPEED is the prototype for a new era of soldiers, soldiers skilled enough to outsmart and outmaneuver the more advanced technology of tomorrow's criminals. But magic and luck can screw with even the best.

Tails keyed the line to the Whirlwind. "Shadow, we may be away from Eggman, but if the Tornado crashes, he can just pick us up again."

"Get Silver to search for any GUN points in range," Shadow replied.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" Silver called to him from the co-pilot seat. There was the clicking of keys as Silver searched. "The nearest bay's in Italy, which is way beyond what we're capable of. What your next bright idea 'Captain?'"

Shadow made a sound similar to a snake hissing. "Try for just friendly ports, not government. There has to be something." Silver kept typing. Then the computer gave an encouraging beep.

"Hey, we're near Babylon Gardens!" There was a groan from somewhere in the Whirlwind.

"Do we have to go there?" wined Sonic. Amy giggled.

"Sonic afraid someone's faster than him." Silver could picture Sonic blushing and smiled.

"I am not! I just owe Jet money!" was his pathetic, though probably true, excuse.

Babylon Garden. An ancient and beautiful artificial floating mountain, once home to the ancient thieves, the Babylon Rogues. For centuries it was presumed lost, but was recently discovered again. It floats using an antigravity generator that has other-worldly jumps in technology, raising many questions about its origins. It is also capable of warping around the world using another alien system, the control box. It has three parts: the central mountain, the sky road which is a kind of primitive highway and the engine systems. Main roads link these parts, but it is not uncommon for rooms to have more than three hidden doors for emergencies. Thieves always leave themselves an extra exit.

The current inhabitants of the Garden are the last three descendants of the Babylon Rogues: Jet, Wave and Storm. The three are master robbers, though Jet prefers to describe himself as 'a Robin Hood with sticky fingers'. Their success is much due to their use of Babylon Gardens powers, anti gravity boards called extreme gears, and their own acrobatic skills.

Jet is the leader, born to it by right. He's the holder of the control box, the device that controlled the garden's power, and therefore commander of Babylon. He acts rather like Sonic: cocky and confident, which means they have a little rivalry going. He's a skilled acrobat and as fast as Sonic on his board. He is also a mass collector of other people's valuables.

Wave is a mechanic, specializing in Gears. She's the one who evens out Jet's ego, making the team a success. She makes the team's mechanics. She is greedy like Jet, but is more realistic and careful in her goals.

Storm is Jet's personal attack dog. He's big, dim, but skilled at what he does, breaking stuff. He follows Jet like a puppy and follows his every word. His straightforward, blunt attitude grates on nearly everyone after a while, but blood is blood so Jet keeps him around.

Previous meeting left SPEED and the Rogues on good terms, so they had no hesitation heading there for repairs. Soon they came into sight of Babylon. It was even more majestic in realism. Man made waterfalls made the mountain gleam and the ancient roads gave the place the ancient, mysterious look that tourists travel miles to see in the pyramids and the coliseum. The hanger door was closed. Tails made the regular air to control report.

"Babylon Garden, this is the Tornado. Requesting permission to land for repairs." He waited. No reply. He tried again. "Babylon Gardens, this is the Tornado, respond. We're requesting permission to land." Still nothing.

"Maybe they're out," mused Blaze. Silver pointed to an airship, the Rogues secondary form of transport.

"Not unless they went out on foot." Blaze took out her mobile. "Now isn't the time for chatter!"

"I'm calling Jet's mobile," she told him matter-of-factly. She hit the 7 speed dial number.

Deep inside the engine rooms, a sudden high pitched cackling sounded for a few seconds. Then again.

After a few seconds of ringing the phone answered. A female voice sounded, but it was muffled like someone was covering the receiver. "Your ring tone is you laughing?"

"Shut up!" There was a crackling as the hand was removed. "Who is this?"

"Jet, this is Blaze. What's happening?" she said. "We're waiting outside and we need to get into the hanger and…"

"You're here?!" There was something curious in Jet's voice. Almost like relief. "Thank God! Something gone seriously wrong and we're trapped in here and… Oh shit, they're back. Bar the door, Storm!" Blaze and Silver stared at the phone like it was possessed. Gunfire sounded, a steady unnerving rattle. There was a _haaak _sound that definitely wasn't human. Then Jet sounded again. "Fall back, Fall Back! Get into the boiler room, now! Get….." there was a crack and the line went dead.

Blaze and Silver looked at each other, then at the phone again. Silver gave a weak laugh. "Well, either this is a very good joke, or we're in deep." The joke was poor and he was obviously troubled. He turned to Tails. "You get all that?"

"Yeah, sounds like we're not getting in easily."

"So what are we going to do?"

"I'm sure if they're in trouble they won't mind."

"Mind what?" Tails was thinking out loud again.

"This," he flicked a switch and pulled the Tornado's firing trigger. A highly explosive nitrogen missile flew from the plane into the hanger door, blowing a gaping hole in it. Silver, Blaze and Knuckles stared at the newly made hole, while Tails waited for the inevitable call. He didn't have to wait long.

"Tails, what are you thinking?! Why'd you just fire?!" Tails wasn't sure if Shadow was more angry or stunned.

"I'll explain when we get in, just calm down."

The two ships entered the hanger. The place was massive, built in the times when there were thousands of Babylonians, with enough room for one of Dr Eggman's flagships. Now it was empty and dark, leaving just memories of a once great civilization. After they landed, Tails and Blaze explained about the phone call. Amy was spooked. "This is just like one of those horror movies," she whispered. "A group of teens enter some spooky old place and get a freaky message. Then the monster comes and picks them off, one by one, until the cute girls left all alone at the mercy of the beast. I don't want to die!" Her voice had grown progressively louder as she spoke, until she was nearly screaming. Sonic clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Sssh! The monster might hear you!" Amy's eyes grew wide with fear.

"Amy," said Shadow. "There is no monster. It's most likely Jet having a joke."

"I'm not so sure," Espio countered. Everyone turned.

"Why do you say that Espio?" Blaze said.

"Well, Jet's up for a laugh. But if it was a joke, than Wave would have killed us for blowing up her hanger." Everyone nodded. Wave's pretty highly strung, so shooting the hanger would snap her temper.

"So what's the plan Shad?" was the obvious question by Sonic.

"We're still here to fix the ship, so half of us go find Jet and his crew, the other half stay here with Tails to repair the ship and…."

"Nooooo!" Amy cut him off. "We don't split up! That just makes it easier for the monster to get us!"

"Amy, there is no monster!" Knuckles said exasperatedly. Tails laughed.

"Careful brother!" he wagged his finger. "The disbeliever always goes first." Knuckles snorted disbelieving.


	3. Chapter 3

In the end, it was decided that Shadow, Silver, Blaze and Knuckles would investigate the engine rooms, while everyone else wor

In the end, it was decided that Shadow, Silver, Blaze and Knuckles would investigate the engine rooms, while everyone else worked on the ship. Shadow because he's the leader, Knuckles to prove there was nothing to fear, Silver because the alternative was watching Tails repair the ship or listening to Amy, and Blaze because she knew Jet.

The corridors, in bleak contrast to Babylon Garden's top, were dark, gloomy and ugly. The lights needed repairs, meaning they gave barely shed any light and left much of the corridors in darkness. The initial thrill gone, Silver began to grow bored again. "So," he asked Shadow. "What did we steal from Eggs?"

"A complex energy supplier from his newest weapon."

"Which does?"

"It draws chaos energy from the air and surroundings, meaning it will continue to run indefinitely." The complexity of the answer meant Silver got a picture of Shadow in Tails shirt and goggles. He was about to voice this view when he looked at Shadow and saw him giving him a dark look. Silver puzzled, not for the first time, whether mind reading was another one to add the Shadow's long list of skills. He yawned instead.

"So it's a permanent battery?"

"Put simply, yes."

A few more levels and Silver was still bored. "I almost wish something would happen." As if by magic, the lights failed. He could hear Knuckles coming up behind him and ducked to avoid a hard backhand.

"Seriously Silver, shut it!"

Shadow was still focused on the job. "Blaze, some light please." Blaze snapped her fingers and a flame lit up the corridor. Nothing seemed out of place. Then the hissing started. Low at first, then growing in pitch until it was beyond human hearing. Everyone stood back to back and pulled their weapons. Shadow got out his SMG, Knuckles put on some knuckle dusters, and Silver pulled out a thin razor blade. Blaze just sent flames up her arms.

The first attack came at Knuckles. What appeared to be a tentacle of darkness flew like black lightning, dodging his fists and striking him solidly in the chest. He staggered slightly, but remained standing. Before it could strike again, Shadow's shoe crashed into it, sending a wave of pain through the entire arm and it retreated. But already another was striking towards the dark teen. Fire from his gun raked the limb, but was barely recognized. It rampage was only stopped when it hit a wall put up by Silver's mind. It drew back, and then charged at the barrier again. It held, barely. Then Silver's knife whistled through the wall and went down the length of the tentacle, making it limp.

But while Silver had been concentrated on that limb, other had appeared around him, warily working together to attack the young psychic. Their way was barred, however by the flames of a now angry Blaze.

"Who wants to burn first?" she roared. It was a big difference to the shy and regal figure from before. They shrank away from the fire, or died, but anything that was stopped was quickly replaced by two more. Soon she was overwhelmed, but the unlucky ones who came at her next were slammed back by Knuckles fists.

This fight, with each member working to cover the others, continued without a sign of end for ten minutes, but it was becoming clear that the SPEED members were tiring.

"We need to end this now!" Shadow called to the others. Silver grunted as another tentacle cracked into his side. His blade flew through the air and severed it.

"No shit Sherlock!" he yelled. "See if Tails can get the lights back online! I'll cover you!" He jumped towards Shadow, sending his razor towards the oncoming wave of darkness. Shadow activated his COM link.

"Tails, Tails! Do you copy?" He waited for a few seconds. No reply. He tried the others. Same result. "Damn!" he swore. "They must be up in the hanger as well!"

"Someone hates us," muttered Knuckles.

"We need to get power back on," said Blaze. She thought for a second, while still fighting. Then it came to her. "Silver, do you still have that hand buzzer?"

"How repetitive do you think I…." he stopped as another attack came at him.

"Silver!" Blaze wasn't convinced.

"Why does no one ever believe me?" there was a trace of hurt in his voice as he pulled the device from his jeans pocket.

"Because you're so truthful," she told him sarcastically. She turned to where Shadow was engaging an unrecognizable number of enemies. "Shadow, get your emerald ready." He gave her a quizzical look. Looking at her was enough of a distraction for the dark oddity. It slammed him into the nearest wall, hard enough to knock out even the ultimate life form. He slumped down, out cold. Blaze screamed silently in frustration.

"Grab it Blaze!" yelled Knuckles as more darkness gathered. "We can't hold out any more!" As he finished a tentacle slammed him into the _roof!_ Silver was turning and twisting to try and defend himself and the now unconscious Knuckles.

"Hurry up Blaze!" was all he could manage.

She ran over to where Shadow was slumped against the wall, surrounded by foes. One fireball sent them all running. Exhausted, she fumbled inside his shirt, over his muscles. Her fingers finally closed around the perfect gem, a wave of energy flowed through her, revitalizing her tired muscles. The power coming from the rare gem was like a full days sleep.

As she pulled away, something snapped around her wrist. She turned, expecting to see another tentacle, but instead there was Shadow. But it wasn't Shadow; he had a hungry, insane look in his eyes and his pupils had dilated to nearly nothing. He looked animal! She tried to pull away, but Shadow's grip was like a vice.

"Blaze, stop dawdling!" Silver yelled.

"I'm not dawdling!" she yelled back. Another limb nearly got to Knuckles, only to be struck back by Silver.

"If I die because you're staring at Shadow's chest, I swear you'll never hear the end of it!"

"Shut up Silver!" she yelled. She turned back to Shadow, his eyes still yearning for the power. "Sorry," she muttered to him. Then her foot swung round into his face, knocking it sideways. Her feet landed on his arm, then pushed. This did two things: it broke his grip and propelled her upwards. She grabbed one of the light fixtures, and slammed the two items in her hands into the fixture, first the buzzer and then the emerald.

The effect was rather like using de-fibrillates on a stopped heart. The emerald gave out a burst of pure energy, which the buzzer changed into electricity. This gave a jolt of electricity into the engine, restarting all the systems, including the lights.

This is exactly what Blaze had planned for.

The effect was instantaneous. Without the cover of dark, the mystery was gone. The tentacles were all coming from one of the side rooms, one of hundreds of identical such rooms. Now compromised, the strange things were retreating back inside. Blaze gave chase. She rounded into the room, just as a figure disappeared into a warp hole. They were already halfway through, but Blaze managed to glimpse a leather jacket and silver streaked black hair. She dived at them, but missed and landed on her face. The figure didn't glance back and disappeared from sight.

Picking herself up, Blaze returned to the corridor. The walls were slick with what she hoped was extraterrestrial blood, and the strange tentacles littered the floor. Silver was helping Knuckles back to his feet. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"You look terrible!" he commented.

"You don't look like roses yourself mister" she retorted. They laughed. Then Silver spoke in a serious voice. "Seriously, what were you…?"

"Drop it!" Then she was tackled off her feet by Shadow. She slammed into the wall, Shadow on top of her.

"What the hell Shad!?" Silver was running over to her. Shadow's hand scrabbled for the Emerald, which was still in her hand. He was panting like he was having an asthma attack. Seeing the connection she let go of the jewel, which he snatched. Then Silver slammed into his back, knocking him from her. "You OK?!" His voice was sincere and worried. Blaze wiped some blood from her split lip.

"Yeah," she muttered. His initial fear gone, Silver turned to fend off Shadow's next attack. There was none. Shadow was crouched on his haunches, staring deep into the emerald. A gentle pulse flowed through the air, and Shadow's stance returned to it's normal, confident state. He stood without turning and headed on. He stopped when he didn't feel anyone following.

"Come on," he called over his shoulder. Still no one followed him. He turned. "Hurry u…" He stopped, staring at his friends. Blaze was still shocked, Silver was fearful but determined, Knuckles was just staring. Shadow stared at his hands.

"What did I do?"


	4. Chapter 4

After a quick radio transmission it was found that Tails' team had found similar troubles, hence the lost radio connection

After a quick radio transmission it was found that Tails' team had found similar troubles, hence the lost radio connection.

"What's our damage?" Shadow queried.

"Espio hurt his shin, Sonic sprained his ankle and Amy broke a nail."

"I'm sure she's complaining like hell."

"You have no idea! We may have more trouble getting back though. The damn demon broke the hanger door. Sorry guy's you're on your own!" Tails cut the connection. Knuckles came over his shoulder.

"So what do we do?"

"We came here to rescue Jet and his team, that's what we're doing," Shadow kept moving, his eyes downcast.

"Listen Shadow, it wasn't your fault," Knuckles tried to comfort him. "There was no way for you to know."

"It doesn't matter," Shadow muttered.

"But…" Shadow's fist slammed into the wall next to Knuckles head. The wall buckled.

"I could have killed her!" he seethed. "I was this close. Whatever my condition, it's my fault!" he turned away from the stunned Knuckles and started off down the corridor. Silver came up behind Knuckles.

"Still stressed?"

"He just found out he nearly killed his friend, what do you expect?" Knuckles sighed. "I mean, imagine having that much power and knowing the slightest mistake could kill the guy next to you. Must be terrible." Suddenly Blaze, who had been scouting ahead, came round into them.

"I've found something!"

The Boiler Room door was a big metal slab, bolted solidly in place. Dents in the door showed where someone or something had tried to break through. Knuckles, with his instincts and tracking skills, began to recreate the scene.

"The three of them came through and Storm barred the door. That's when the call came through. While Jet answered, the monsters broke through the door." He went over to the far wall. "They fired, but the guns weren't powerful enough to pierce the skin."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Silver was waving his arms. "Those three carry .50 calibers. You're telling me they didn't pierce it?!"

"Not too hard," Shadow said. "Their SMG aren't meant to pierce amour. Still," he mused. "The one's we saw weren't armored at all."

"Great," Silver said bitterly. "They're evolving!" Knuckles continued scanning the ground.

"After the rebuke failed, Jet ordered the retreat…."

"That's when the call ended," added Blaze.

"They ran into the inner room," Knuckles moved on. "Wave got through…" he stopped, staring at the scrape marks on the floor. "Something stopped Jet. Storm got him free, and threw him in," he stopped, staring at the ground. "Then he closed the door."

"What?!" everyone was stunned.

"There's more," Knuckles muttered. Sadness was evident in his voice. Though they'd been rivals, Knuckles had liked Storm, and his life looked bleak. "Storm faced the monster, fist to fist. He put up a good fight, but the thing knocked him down, and dragged him away." Knuckles shoulders slumped dramatically, his eyes nearly teary. "He's gone."

"Shit!" was all Silver could muster. No smart comment, no sarcasm. Just 'shit'. Blaze couldn't say anything. Shadow, who'd been looking at his shoes, snapped up suddenly.

"How hot is the boiler room?"

"50 degrees Celsius," Blaze replied. "Why?"

"Because Jet and Wave have been stuck in there for over an hour. They'll be nearly fried by now." He ran to the door and tried to push it, and then pulled away suddenly.

"The door's hot!"

"No durr!" Silver said and pushed at the door. He jumped away too. "It's….!" he stopped himself under Blaze's judging look. "Stuck," he finished pathetically.

"Weaklings," Knuckles said as he pushed the two of them out of the way. He pulled back, and then smashed his fist into and through the door! It flew through the following room. The team ran through.

The first thing they noticed was the heat. It was like a physical wall, pushing them away from the giant object in the centre of the room. This object was a humongous boiler, larger than the Tornado and Whirlwind together. Tubes came from it, branching out like vines to the outer walls. The boiler was Babylon Garden's backup power source, and was kept running at all times to keep the floating island in the air. Not a particularly environmental choice, but necessary in case of complete shutdown.

Then they saw the two figures. Both weren't particularly big, their figures light and lean. Discarded jackets, beanies and gloves had left them in pants and skivvies. They were both out cold. Sweat matted the spiked back green hair of the boy and the girl's twin back length tails of purple hair. Even without their extra high altitude gear, Jet and Wave were unmistakable.

Unperturbed by the heat, Blaze ran forward, and checked Jet's pulse. It was jumpy and fleeting, but definitely there. Wave's was the same. Blaze tired to pull them, but barely managed to move them. Knuckles, sweating profusely, managed to pull him to them and, with Blaze's help, pulled the Babylon Rouges out into the entry room. Silver pulled out a dehydration pack and began to apply them. The specified chemicals in the packs sent oxygen and hydrogen straight to the central organs, getting them back up to speed. Jet spluttered as his lungs began to restart. He looked up at Silver's face.

"Took your god damn time!"

"You're welcome." Jet looked around.

"Where's Storm?" he croaked. Silver looked away. "No," Jet shook his head, trying to destroy his thoughts. "NO!" Shadow came over. He grabbed Jet's shoulders.

"What happened Jet? What went wrong?" Tears had formed in Jet's eyes.

"God, so much! We were trying to increase the warp drive past its limit."  
"Why?" Knuckles asked. He couldn't see why it needed more power. It could already go anywhere on Earth.

"Wave discovered something in the engine's old records. She found that, with enough power, the warp engine could create a portal to another dimension."

"I repeat, why?" Knuckles said. "What reason do you have to go to another dimension?" Jet gave him a strange look. He looked puzzled, amused and pitying all at the same time.

"Do you know what could be in another dimension?! Valleys of gold, diamond plains, riches beyond your wildest dreams," his eyes were shining with longing. Now Knuckles gave him a pitying look.

"That's what Wave told you to get you to agree, wasn't it?" Jet looked at his feet, like a child who knows he's done something wrong. Knuckles laughed. "Honestly, even I'm not that gullible!" Silver and Shadow raised their eyebrows skeptically. Knuckles stopped. Jet was fuming.

"Yes, I made a mistake! And I've lost my best friend for it! Now shut it!" He was standing now and waving his fist in Knuckles face. Shadow stood in between them.

"Yes, we understand Jet," he said sympathetically. "And we're sorry. But we have to know what happened. Did the experiment succeed?"

"Sure did," said a voice behind him. Wave was behind him, being supported by Blaze. "We put all the power into it and the rift opened. Horrible black slit." She stumbled slightly and Blaze had to support her. She coughed and spat, then continued. "Before we could shut it off, these two guys came through."

"Did, you get a good look?" asked an excited Shadow. Wave shook her head.

"They had these overcoats and hoods covering their face. Then those monsters started coming. Torrents of them. Storm broke the computer and the rift closed. But it was already too late!" She clutched at her head. "Damn it! This is all my fault!" Storm's supposed death had hit her hard too. Blaze tried to comfort her while Shadow thought.

"OK," he said. "We have to take out whoever or whatever this is." He turned to Jet. "They're controlling the power system. Where are the controls?" Jet thought for a second.

"There are 4 in total," he said. "One down here, one in the hanger…" he counted them on his fingers. "One in the warp room and one at the central chamber in the mountain." Then he thought of something. "Storm broke the one in the warp room, so they must be in the central chamber!"  
"We need to strike them now!" Shadow activated his comm. "Tails, we need some ideas."

In the hanger, Tails was staring out of the burnt out hole in the door. The wide eyed, gaping mouth expression told more than any words could. Finally he found his voice.

"We may have a problem." The comm. crackled before Shadow responded.

"What kind of problem?" Tails glanced at the monstrosity in the distance. Even at a distance, its signature whale shape and oversized guns were visible. The final part that gave it away was the symbol on the side: a white circle with a strange moustache and an insane grin. The Egg Destroyer's was nearly comical if you hadn't seen it in action.

"A big problem."


	5. Chapter 5

According to Tails calculations, the Destroyer would be in firing range in approximately 1 hour from 5:42pm

According to Tails calculations, the Destroyer would be in firing range in approximately 1 hour from 5:42pm. At 5:50, two silhouettes were visible in the setting sun flying from the hanger, heading along the sky road towards the top of the artificial mountain. Their gears, two high altitude, low distance models, carried them through the air silently and effortlessly. In seconds they were over the top of the mountain. Here, the gears stopped for less than a second, then returned by remote to the hanger. The whole drop took only a minute.

The two figures milled on the top of the mountain for a minute, then disappeared as well. Nothing was left to show they'd been there.

5:52

Inside a shaft barely wide enough for a dog, Sonic and Espio shuffled along towards the central chamber. Sonic hated getting paired with Espio. The guy was completely business, with no sense of humor yet discovered. What's more, he was so bloody calm, it was impossible to get him to react to any pun or jibe. And with his clothes, there was just too many good jokes going to waste. Purple hair with yellow streak, long dark jacket, purple shirt, the guy was a fashion catastrophe. Even Shadow had some dress sense. Espio's belt jingled as he crawled with the wealth of murderous items there, each one sharpened and deadly in their master's hand.

"How much further?" Espio stopped, probably checking the map Jet had sent them. Even he didn't remember all the turns and twists of these getaway systems. At least there'd been a backup entrance on the mountain. Sonic could just see all the monsters that could be swamping the main entrances.

"Two more turns, and then we're in the main corridors. No don't make a sound! There's someone below us." Sonic didn't even bother asking how he knew. Espio's advanced senses and ninja skills had put him beyond understanding long ago. They kept moving in silence.

5:57

Shadow, Jet and Blaze moved stealthy towards the Central Chamber. They'd left Silver and Knuckles, much to their despair, to mind the still weak Wave. Jet had insisted that he could go, so now in beanie, racing goggles and jacket he stood with the two agents ready to charge.

As they'd predicted, swarms of the strange, dark creatures were there. Some like the tentacles some armored lizard-like ones and some that were incapable of being describes as anything other than alien. Not that Jet cared. His blood was fired and ready to kill. His hand clenched on his gun, a .50 calibers SMG held one handed, gangster style.

"Let's just blast them!" he hissed. Shadow held up his hand for silence.

"In a sec. Tails and I have one more little surprise planned." Right on cue, a Gear with a familiar lanky blonde kid flew over the sea of beasts. His two extra appendages fluttered behind him. Before any of the monsters could react though, he dropped a few items and sped off. The items bounced with a metallic clang. Then silence.

"That it?" said Jet. Skepticism and annoyance was written over his face.

"Wait for it…"

"I don't care what nerd boy cooked up, I'm…"

_**BANG!! **_A flash of light flared up in the entrance.

"Flash grenades," Shadow told the stunned Jet. "Now it's easy." Pulling his gun, Shadow followed Blaze, who was already charging for the entrance. Jet stared after them.

"Flash grenades…" he thought out loud. "Why didn't I think of that?" He ran after Shadow into Babylon Garden's core.

6:00

Sonic's watch chimed the hour as he and Espio left the cramped shaft. Espio gave him a look that said 'shut it off or I'll snap your neck.' He did. The corridor they'd landed in had the blue shine of polished iron. Obviously someone had too much time on their hands to have polished a corridor wall.

"So what's next?" he asked, obviously a bit too loud because Espio gave him another look. "So what's next?" he whispered.

"Well…" he stopped and spun round, his ears pricked. Then he disappeared. Just like that. One of Espio more impressive, and creepier abilities was his skill to make his skin translucent, making him invisible. Tails had rigged his clothes to do the same thing. Sonic sneaked a peek round the corner. Three armored lizard creatures were walking towards him. He ducked back round. _"Pleasedon'thaveseenme, pleasedon'thaveseenme, pleasedon'thaveseenme,"_ he prayed. He heard the gallop of feet. They'd seen him!

Sonic swung round the corner, his automatic pistol raised. He shouldn't have bothered. The three creatures were almost upon him. He braced himself eyes tightly shut. They flew straight past him, momentum carrying their bodies either side of him. He peeked out. Two of the monsters had Kunai stuck in their vitals, twitching feebly. The last was less lucky. Its neck was snapped, its head hanging limply on it's back.

As he stared at the bodies, Espio reappeared millimeters from his face, his cold eyes staring into his. Sonic nearly had a stroke. "What part of stealth don't you understand?" He stood and started walking off. Sonic quickly stood up and tried to follow him with any scraps of dignity he had left. Not much.

As he removed his weapons from the creatures' bodies, Sonic could have sworn he saw Espio's shoulders trembling. He thought about his comment about Espio having no sense of humor. He'd been wrong.

Espio had a warped sense of humor.

6:13

Charging in had not been the greatest plan in history. 15 minutes after entering, Shadow's team were no nearer to their goal, and were exhausted. Jet's gun had been firing for so long it had started ringing in his ears.

"You sure this is the right way?" Blaze called. She'd lost her gloves and her hands were constantly on fire.

"No!" Jet called back sarcastically. "I don't know the way round my own fucking home!"

"A simple yes would have sufficed!" Shadow was silent. Blaze took a closer look. His face was transfixed with one of his smiles that either meant everything was working, someone was about to die or Sonic was in pain. As they rounded another corner, a literal wall of black beasts came at them.

"Their whole god damn army must be here!" Jet yelled.

Shadow continued to smile as his foot crashed into the first of them. "Exactly what we want!"

6:20

"They're taking too long," muttered Tails.

"Stop worrying," Amy told him. "Sonic never loses. I'm sure they're sitting at the controls right now." Tails sighed at her misplaced belief. Sonic lost constantly, but there was always someone to save his ass. Shadow, Knuckles, even himself all got Sonic out of trouble at some time. Yet Sonic still got the credit. Go figure.

Tails and Amy had landed the easy job. All they had to do was repair the ship, which Tails had finished, and watch for Eggman from the safety of the hanger. Suddenly the Garden's comm. system flared up and Eggman's voice sounded all over Babylon.

"Attention Babylon Rogues! I know you are sheltering SPEED. They have something that belongs to me. I'm in a good mood so I'll tell you what; if you release them to me in the next 20 minutes I will not fire on Babylon Garden! Refuse and you will see the full power of my Egg Destroyer." The comm. crackled, and then died. Amy was shocked! They had no way out! Tails started sniggering.

"What's so funny?!" she yelled at him. Amy reduces stress through yelling.

"It's a bluff," Tails half-choked trying not to laugh. "Babylon Gardens has the most advanced warp engine on Earth; even Eggman doesn't have one this good! We can escape any time we want and he knows it!"

"Then what's he doing?" Tails thought for a few moments.

"He's probably trying to get us to argue, so we forget we can escape."

"Well that's stupid!"

"Yes, but if Sonic and the others don't commandeer the command centre soon, his plan will have supposedly worked." Amy was silent for a second. Then she grabbed Tails' mike.

"Hurry up Sonic!!"

6:28

They were surrounded and dry. No other way to put it. Jet and Shadow's guns had run out of ammo 4 minutes ago and Blaze was past exhaustion. So now they were as good as dead, as far as Jet was concerned. He kicked himself for trusting the plan of someone who was a proved sociopath. The monsters were closing in, climbing over the piles of their dead without flinch. He clenched his fists, ready to fight to his last breath.

"Now, now Jet," came a smooth, almost melodic voice. "I would rather not make my pets hurt you, and I want you alive." Jet spun round, trying to find the owner of the voice. A cloaked figure floated effortlessly over the throng of unearthly beasts. Its ankle length cloak concealed his entire body, including its face. From the shape though, Jet assumed it was male. His fingers remained curled, but now he was angry instead of desperate.

"You!" he hissed. "You're the one who killed Storm." As he landed, Jet charged at him. With no more effort than it took to swat a bug, the figure backhanded him into the roof. The black body flew with astounding speed after him, slamming him into the roof again. Then he remained there, mocking gravity. Even this close, Jet still couldn't make out his face under the hood. The figure leant forward, or up, and whispered.

"What makes you think he's dead…yet?" He laughed at Jet's stunned expression and slammed his knee into his chest, knocking him out. He floated down slowly, where his creatures were leading Shadow and Blaze away. He threw Jet unceremoniously to one of the waiting monsters. His voice hissed a command and the creatures began moving them towards the central control.

As Shadow was knocked past, the cloaked figures gaze rested on him. His dark clothes and red streaked black hair told him everything about his personality.

"Why?" he thought. "Why must such a success be destroyed?" His gaze moved to his face. Bruises and cuts were spread over the light, sharp features. The eyes were a pale crimson, almost blood stained. They were downcast, a sure sign of a failed plan. But there was something in them, a glint of something more. He dismissed it as a trick of the light, but something nagged at him. Ignoring it, he followed his servants for the central control, and he thrilled with a private joy at the thought of what was to come.


	6. Chapter 6

6:35

6:35

"Ten minutes," Espio muttered. They were behind schedule. Shadow should be here by now. He and Sonic were sitting in the control room's engine. Technically, Sonic was cramped under a desk and Espio was leaning against the wall, invisible.

"Shadow's doing this on purpose!" Sonic muttered from under the desk. Though he couldn't see it, Espio gave him another pitying look. Espio hated going with Sonic. He never stopped complaining and would try to bait him into his stupid jokes. It was like trying to meditate next to Tails' power drills: grating. But Espio retained his calm and returned to scanning the room, looking for hidden threats he hadn't seen in the last 4 minutes of waiting.

_SLAM._

Two beasts came through the door, followed by Blaze and Shadow, Shadow being forced to carry the unconscious Jet. Then the cloaked one. The creatures nudged the prisoners to the back wall. With a wave of his hand, the figure dismissed the guards. Now they were alone and there was nothing to stop Blaze or Shadow striking the figure down. And that was disturbing. The figure crossed his arms, leaned back and waited.

Warily, Shadow set Jet against the wall, never taking his eyes off his captor. Jet's eyes flashed open as his head touched the cold steel.

"Storm…" he croaked. The figure laughed, a low, bellowing laugh that made the walls tremble.

"Ah yes, him," he waved his hand. Part of the roof opened, and a rough X of steel came. Tied to the cross was the giant, muscular form of Storm. His physical stature was tall and wide, a bleak contrast to Jet. His grey jacket and shirt were ripped, blood staining the material, and is long grey hair was matted with sweat. Usually he was an imposing figure, but here with his head hanging below his giant shoulders, he looked small and weak. Jet was stunned.

"He wasn't co-operating well, so I was forced to take…extra measures," the sound of Storm's breathing was sharp and ragged. "Maybe you will be more helpful." Jet was staring at Storm's nearly limp figure, his mouth gaping. Then, with speed that couldn't be explained, he flipped and pushed himself off the wall, literally flying towards the figure.

"You Bastard!" he screeched. The figure didn't flinch.

His hand came up; open palmed, and sent Jet flying back into the wall.

_Crunch!_

"I guess not," he moved to the immobilized Storm. "Now listen! I know you can make this pile of rock warped out of here." He pulled a knife from inside his robe and pointed it at Storm. "He wouldn't tell my how. Now either you do…" he put the knife at Storm's neck. "Or he dies."

"How about this?" came another voice. "You get out of here or I shoot!" Sonic had unfolded himself from under the desk and was now pointing his pistol at the figures back. Shadow sighed.

"Not yet you idiot!" Without even turning around, the figure snapped his fingers. Without warning, Sonic was sent flying from where he was. A second cloaked figure appeared from thin air. It was taller and better built than his counterpart, but seemed to move with less confidence, less assurance in its own actions. Not smart, but definitely not a mere lackey. It must have used a HALOS stealth unit, giving a similar effect a Espio's ability. The first laughed again.

"It's always good to have a hidden weapon." The figure stopped. Shadow was laughing as well.

"I couldn't agree more." Shadow snapped his fingers. Cold steel touched the figures neck. "Now, where were we?" The cloaked one didn't flinch.  
"Brother!" he called. "Shoot whoever's on me." The blade pushed harder in.

"There's no one there," the other called back. The cloaked figure nearly lost his temper. His opponent was obviously cloaked, reaching over his shoulder to press the blade against his neck. Humans were so predictable.

"Shoot at my back, you dolt."

"NO!" yelled Shadow. He felt the blade tremble for a second. He was right!

"NOW!" The second cloaked figure raised it's hand. A length of lava shot out! It traveled through the air and into the first figure's back. He let out an inhuman wail. In from of his eyes, Espio materialized, standing safely in front of him and holding his Kunai backhandedly. The invisible one had tricked him! Shadow cackled.

"Ever heard of acting?" The figure staggered back gripping his chest. Espio let him go.

"There's no way off the Garden," he reasoned. Keeled over, the figure managed to raise his hand. A portal, identical to the one Blaze had seen before, formed and the figure walked forward into it.

"He's getting away!" Blaze called. The second figure dived through after him.

"You'll pay for this Shadow!" the figures voice echoed out as the portal closed. "You will regret displeasing the master of darkness!"

"_I'll remember you!"_ Shadow thought. Blaze let out a deep breath.

"Finally done!" she said. Sonic groaned from his place in the corner.

"Babylon Gardens!" boomed Eggman's voice.

"Shit!" Shadow said. "The Destroyer!" He looked at his watch. 6:47 p.m.

"You have failed to comply with my request. This is stupidly loyal Jet. I expected better of you." The room was in chaos as everyone rushed to activate the warp drive. Ancient terminals buzzed as finger clicked to type the needed systems.

"What co-ordinates?" Blaze called to Jet, who had been forced to stop helping Storm.

"I don't care!" he screeched.

"Therefore, I shall begin firing on you. Goodbye all."

"All power to the warp drive." Espio said. Even in the disorder, he was still deathly calm.

"Co-ordinates set!"

"Jet, the control box!" Shadow barked. Jet pulled a translucent, rainbow cube from inside his jacket. He held it above his head.

"Babylon Gardens! Activate!" he called to the ancient structure.

In the hanger, Tails and Amy, now joined by Silver, Knuckles and Wave, watched as the Egg Destroyer took aim. There were more cannons than they could count. "Hurry up guys!"

Beams of light struck the cube from all directions as the entire floating island began to hum. The hum began to build as the Control Box glowed brighter.

"Babylon Gardens!" Jet yelled in a commanding voice. "Warp!"

From outside, the colossal sight began to blur, then fade, then it was gone completely. Inside the hanger, the onlookers saw the blue skies and plains of Turkey replaced by the burning heat and clear horizons of the Egyptian Desert.

"Yes!" Tails yelled and Silver started doing a little happy jig. Knuckles gave him a look and he stopped.

Similar celebration was taking place inside the central control room. Sonic was zooming round the room to waste off his unused adrenaline. Espio was the opposite, slouching deep into one of the seats and meditating. Shadow walked over to Blaze.

"Listen," he said. "I wanted to apologies for what happened before and…" Blaze cut him off.

"There's nothing to apologies for Shadow," she told him. "You have your weaknesses just like anyone else. It was my fault." Shadow went to say something else, but she held up her hand. "Let's leave it at that, OK." Shadow stopped, but his face was calm again. Jet, who was helping Storm again, called out.

"Now that that's over, can someone tell me why the fuck you're here?!"

Back aboard the Egg Destroyer in Turkey, Dr Eggman groaned. He'd been so close, he should have had them. Now he was down one engine component and had wasted the fuel to get this thing up and running. He ordered one of his robots to prepare his stress drink, prune juice and egg. He get SPEED next time, he vowed it. A sigh built in his throat. Who was he kidding? He was no match for GUN's best team. He needed some advantage, something to get an upper hand on them. Something…

"Sir?" one of his robots was coming through the door.

"What?!"

"Something has been found on the ship. Do you want to see it?" Eggman sighed again.

"Put it up." A holoscreen came up, showing a picture of the hanger. There were two dark, cloaked figures, both out cold.

"Why are you telling me…" Eggman took a closer look at the face of one of the figures, who'd lost his hood. He smiled and then began to laugh.

"Muahahaha!"


End file.
